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What is a #1 Google Ranking Worth?

Aaron Wall wrote an interesting article the other day about the value of a Google ranking. As we already know being number 1 on Google can drastically affect your business, but the question is, what is it worth? According to the data that AOL released a while back the number 10 listing gets 14x less clicks than the number 1 listing. And to go one step further, 89% of the clicks that users make when searching, happen to be on page 1.

Overall there are a lot of factors that can affect the value of a Google ranking and Aaron did a great job breaking down the value. So instead of summarizing everything Aaron wrote, I highly recommend that you go read the article.

Reader Comments (37)

Dan Schawbel, May 12, 2008

As we have less and less time and are more and more distracted by technology, the top 3 results in Google begins to be the only results in Google.

Dan Schawbel, May 12, 2008

As we have less and less time and are more and more distracted by technology, the top 3 results in Google begins to be the only results in Google.

Dan Schawbel, May 12, 2008

As we have less and less time and are more and more distracted by technology, the top 3 results in Google begins to be the only results in Google.

Tanner Christensen, May 12, 2008

Top ranking for internet companies is probably the most important thing, and with these statistics it's no wonder why.

Donovan, May 12, 2008

I don't see how a number can be put on how much traffic a certain position gets over the next. Even if you personally own all ten positions for any given keyword the actually sites design could either keep the user on the site or makes the user leave the site. A well designed site with the product/service the user needed will have a higher ratio then a site ranked #1 that's been designed badly. I have two sites (my client) ranked in position #1 and #2, I do seo for both but I designed the #2 site, that site received twice as much traffic from long tail keywords but the average time on the site was about 5 minutes while the other was 1 minute. I think that should go into the factoring when debating the true value of #1.

Donovan, May 12, 2008

I don't see how a number can be put on how much traffic a certain position gets over the next. Even if you personally own all ten positions for any given keyword the actually sites design could either keep the user on the site or makes the user leave the site. A well designed site with the product/service the user needed will have a higher ratio then a site ranked #1 that's been designed badly. I have two sites (my client) ranked in position #1 and #2, I do seo for both but I designed the #2 site, that site received twice as much traffic from long tail keywords but the average time on the site was about 5 minutes while the other was 1 minute. I think that should go into the factoring when debating the true value of #1.

Reginald, May 13, 2008

Until the is an established rival, a Google ranking remains an essential ingredient for online business success.

Don, May 13, 2008

I feel google ranking is an important part of any websites success.

MarketingDeviant, May 15, 2008

The top 3 is the most important I believe although I usually check out websites up to the 7th rank of the 1st page.

Make Money Talks, May 15, 2008

I still love to see quality result and i don't mind to digg few pages to find what am i looking, but i know lot of people just click first they see.

Make Money Talks, May 15, 2008

I still love to see quality result and i don't mind to digg few pages to find what am i looking, but i know lot of people just click first they see.

SystemsThinker, May 15, 2008

Definitely think there is an enormous benefit to being the top hit on Google, and a benefit to being in the top 2 or 3, as well. I think the hits trail off real fast after that. But it still is useful to be in the top 10. Just an exponential difference as you get lower and lower on that page.

SystemsThinker, May 15, 2008

Definitely think there is an enormous benefit to being the top hit on Google, and a benefit to being in the top 2 or 3, as well. I think the hits trail off real fast after that. But it still is useful to be in the top 10. Just an exponential difference as you get lower and lower on that page.

firma, May 16, 2008

thanks you

Nate Nead, May 16, 2008

We're information hungry and impatient. That's why I never make it to the second page (i'm only being honest).

Michael Cohn, May 17, 2008

Most sites have a high abandonment rate for initial clicks that come in from search engines. In other words, a great many people who find something on Google and then click on it, end up abandoning it almost instantly.

Perhaps those are the less focused, and less valuable users. Perhaps there is more value in a getting a user who takes another minute to peruse the search results and think about where she's clicking.

Millionaire Mindset, May 20, 2008

Most people who use search engines will never go past the 1st page of the results unless they are using it to find a specific site they've seen in the past... where they will relentlessly go to the 32nd page and give up when they can't find it lol

pooja, May 20, 2008

Google Ranking surely affects the business... but whats the solution to this ?????

pooja, May 20, 2008

Google Ranking surely affects the business... but whats the solution to this ?????

pazarlama, May 23, 2008

thanks :)

Reginald, May 24, 2008

Perhaps, this recent adjustment to Google's ranking criteria can open new door of opportunities for the newcomers to blogging.

I guess it is yet to be seen.

Madhav Tripathi, June 2, 2008

Yes it can be right because mostly people searches for first five links and if a person clicks first link it is sure he will click second one also, and it is not nessesary he first click for first link, if he get his keywords listed then he can direct click second or third link.

Tom Lindstrom, June 3, 2008

Over 90% of the traffic to a site comes often through search engines (Google) so the ranking is really important.It pays to do the SEO properly and research the keywords you would like to rank on.

Stanium, June 7, 2008

Today #1 position in Google is more like a matter of SEO promotion, rather than the result of Google's algorythm. And each case of successful ranking makes #1 position even more desirable.

But being #1 doesn't mean being relevant to query, that's what my personal experience tells me. So I also check out second and sometimes third pages of search results too.

Stanium, June 7, 2008

Today #1 position in Google is more like a matter of SEO promotion, rather than the result of Google's algorythm. And each case of successful ranking makes #1 position even more desirable.

But being #1 doesn't mean being relevant to query, that's what my personal experience tells me. So I also check out second and sometimes third pages of search results too.

Peter Wolf, June 18, 2008

I think the hits trail off real fast after that. But it still is useful to be in the top 10. Just an exponential difference as you get lower and lower on that page.

Hamlb, June 30, 2008

It's natural that everybody likes to be top 10 of GOOGLE

Ace S., June 30, 2008

I completely agree with Tom Lindstrom that 90% of the traffic to a site comes through search engines and of course, most of them through google. That's why the ranking really matters. And to be on top of the ranking you really need to research on selecting keywords.

Ace S.

Social Media Marketing - 834776836.933591

elmo033057, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th to you as well. I really liked Google's logo and image for the 4th of July. I have noticed that Google is starting some very complex tactics in its ranking system. Yahoo better follow quickly because it will be left behind in the dust.

God Bless!

ELMO

pushpendra, July 28, 2008

yes,Very few people prefer to navigate to other pages (2,3,4..). They click the sites on page one. To get good results your page need to have a good SERP. For that your page need to have good page rank. I think top 10 or top 20 listings get good clicks.

pushpendra, July 28, 2008

yes,Very few people prefer to navigate to other pages (2,3,4..). They click the sites on page one. To get good results your page need to have a good SERP. For that your page need to have good page rank. I think top 10 or top 20 listings get good clicks.

ldonovan, August 5, 2008

I was once told to try pages 2 & 3 and to use Glyphius along with Adwords.

ldonovan, August 5, 2008

I was once told to try pages 2 & 3 and to use Glyphius along with Adwords.

Louisa, August 15, 2008

I work at a New Media Communications firm in Boston, 451 Marketing (www.451marketing.com)and we do a lot of work with SEO and Google rankings. It is amazing how much a Google ranking can affect traffic to a site, and therefore revenue. I just wanted to thank you for a great post, it was very informative and interesting.

Louisa

Louisa, August 15, 2008

I work at a New Media Communications firm in Boston, 451 Marketing (www.451marketing.com)and we do a lot of work with SEO and Google rankings. It is amazing how much a Google ranking can affect traffic to a site, and therefore revenue. I just wanted to thank you for a great post, it was very informative and interesting.

Louisa

One Year Millionaire, August 20, 2008

For me a #1 ranking would be worth a lot... all the organic traffic to my site would definitely attribute to a big boost in website revenue.

Stevie Black, November 14, 2008

At McDougall Interactive, we know that many people understand the benefit of ranking high in the search engines - like most competitive venues in life, ranking higher is better - but in many cases, they miss the correlation between ranks, traffic and on-page conversion.

Understand the goal, Grasshopper, before starting the journey.

sb